optimist wrote:Who would believe that Israel sent even a manned jet, into Lebanese airspace on a recognisance mission?

Good point. Especially sending a stealth fighter with external bombs on it, so the enemy can track it? Sort of defeats the whole idea of using stealth aircraft in high threat environments? You don't put bombs, and fuel tanks under the wings till after you destroy the IADS, not before. If it's true, the nicest thing you can call it is poor tactics. If your not being kind you can call it stupid.

Today (Dec 6th, 2017) Israeli Air Force F-35i Adir declared operational.Meaning all the 9 Adirs of 140FS can be part of the IAF operational activity anywhere anytime.Israel is the second country after US to declare the F-35 operational, next year Israel will get another 6 A/C.http://www.iaf.org.il/4467-49791-en/IAF.aspx

fang wrote:Today (Dec 6th, 2017) Israeli Air Force F-35i Adir declared operational.Meaning all the 9 Adirs of 140FS can be part of the IAF operational activity anywhere anytime.Israel is the second country after US to declare the F-35 operational, next year Israel will get another 6 A/C.http://www.iaf.org.il/4467-49791-en/IAF.aspx

In case anyone missex it, two things happened during past 7 days:

1) Houthis launched Iranian supplied land based cruise missile at UAE2) Israel bombed Iranian/Hezbollah targets in the vicinity of Damascus on 1st, 3rd and 4th of December.

Which probably means next time you hear something "unexpectedly" exploding in Syria there will be F-35s involved, either directly or as eyes in the sky.

"...In a recent interview, retired Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, the former Israeli Air Force commander who signed off on the decision to procure the F-35, told this reporter that the fifth-generation fighter offers “unique strategic advantage here in this neighborhood, both in terms of deterrence and also operational capabilities.”

According to Nehushtan, the service is working methodically and capably to integrate “unique Israeli capabilities” into the new F-35 force and to integrate the new fighters into a network that encompasses the rest of Israel’s combat air power.

“We certainly will see the benefits of having the unique virtues of these F-35 capabilities in the Middle East,” he said. “This know-how is developing, and I’m sure the IAF will know how best to utilize the F-35 and integrate it into the greater IAF and to apply these holistic capabilities to the challenges Israel faces.”

When asked whether the F-35 would play a lead role in a possible strike on Iran, the former Air Force commander replied: “If or when the state of Israel determines the need to exercise its sovereign right to self-defense, the F-35 absolutely will be a key player.”

He noted, however, that given Iran’s apparent compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran, he doesn’t foresee near-term use of military force. “The agreement actually put Iran at some distance away [from a nuclear bomb] in the short term. But in the long term, it certainly has holes. Nevertheless, we’re now living in an international context of the agreement. So I don’t see, in that context, any attack coming soon.”

Israel has contracted for 50 F-35s, and long-term plans envision another 25 aircraft later in the coming decade."

"The Israeli air force on 6 December declared its Lockheed Martin F-35I "Adir" combat aircraft as having achieved initial operational capability. Air force commander Maj Gen Amikam Norkin confirmed the milestone involving the stealthy type, nine of which are assigned to its 140th "Golden Eagle" squadron at Nevatim air base. The declaration followed an inspection performed on five of the unit's jets, after which the service says "the aircraft was found fit for operational activity"....

...[Lt Col Yotam] notes: "We still have tests, development of combat doctrines and extensive learning before us."...

...Israel has asked the USA to allow it to integrate further Israeli-developed weapons and electronic warfare systems on its Adir fleet. The nation is already working to add Rafael's Python 5 and Derby air-to-air missiles to the aircraft, along with the company's Litening 5 targeting pod. Israeli sources say the new request is being evaluated "by the highest echelons", and would require access to the "heart" of the stealth fighter's software.

First two would improve performance against ground targets, especially for recognition and identification. SWIR and color CCD-TV have higher resolution and contrast than MWIR camera and have some other advantages like being able to see through glass (might be useful in urban environment). I'd say that if all of these can be fuzed using sensor fusion techniques, the end result would be very good especially for target recogniton and identification. For detecting regular military targets the improvement would not be that big though since MWIR is generally the best optical system for that. But naturally recognition and identification are extremely important and improving performance there will be big thing.

More than likely what we will see is an Advanced EOTS based on the Lightning5.

....question "NOT" about Advanced EOTS!; earlier in the JSF program (3-5 yrs.) an improvement was made in the EOTS and was cutin to the production line per my memory. I can't "search" this event and less memory about the "improvement", any link to this earlier event would be appreciated.